Driving licence paper section no longer valid or needed from Monday 8 June

For the past 17 years drivers have had to keep two parts of a driving licence

UK Driving Licence (ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The paper counterpart to the UK driving licence is to be abolished on Monday, 8 June, as the Government moves more of its services online.

The changes will do away with the dual element to licences, which have historically comprised a plastic identity card and a separate sheet of paper detailing penalty points and endorsements.

In March a government spokesperson said that the move to go paperless was designed to reduce the "burden" on motorists.

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"For most drivers there simply isn’t a need to have this information on a piece of paper when it is now freely and easily available online," the spokesperson told the Plymouth Herald.

"It also saves drivers from paying £20 to replace a lost or damaged counterpart."

From Monday, the information previously stored on the paper licence will be held only on the DVLA’s computers.

And while the move has been touted as a way to simplify the system, it's likely to make certain elements more complicated - such as hiring a car on holiday.

Hire purpose: licences are changing (Getty)

When the new changes come into force anyone going abroad and hiring a car will have to log on to the DVLA website with their driving licence number, National Insurance number and postcode, to obtain a special code, which they can then give to their car hire company on arrival.

But the passcode will only be valid for 72 hours - meaning travellers will have to find internet access abroad if they wish to hire a car in the second week of their visit.

Those who do not have internet access should call 0300 083 0013.

And as for what to do with your paper counterpart - well, after 8 June it will no longer have any legal status.

You should destroy the paper record after that date, although you still need to keep your current photocard driving licence, the DVLA says.

Paper driving licences issued before the photocard was introduced in 1998 will remain valid and should not be destroyed.